Текст книги "Pure"
Автор книги: Jennifer L. Armentrout
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Pure
The Second Covenant Novel by
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Spencer Hill Press
The Covenant Series
Daimon(A short prequel to Half-Blood,available
as a free download at www.SpencerHillPress.com)
Half-Blood
Pure
Deity(November 2012)
Apollyon(Spring 2013)
Also by Jennifer L. Armentrout
From Spencer Hill Press:
Cursed(September 2012)
From Entangled Publishing:
Obsidian(Book 1 in the Lux Series)
Onyx(Book 2 in the Lux Series) (May 2012)
Opal(Book 3 in the Lux Series) (November 2012)
Writing as JL Rogers:
Unchained(Fall 2012)
Coming from Disney-Hyperion:
Don’t Look Back
To my family and Loki
(yeah, I’m dedicating Pureto a dog)
Pronunciation Guide for Pure
Daimon: DEE-mun
Aether: EE-ther
Hematoi: HEM-a-toy
Apollyon: a-POL-ee-on
Agapi: ah-GAH-pee
Akasha: ah-KAH-sha
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 1
I STARED AT THE CEILING OF THE GYMNASIUM, LITTLE BLACK splotches dancing in front of me. Man, my butt hurt. No surprise, as I’d landed on it about fifty times already. The only thing not burning with pain was my face; it was on fire for an entirely different reason.
My Gutter Fighting class wasn’t going well.
This style of hand-to-hand combat wasn’t exactly second nature. My muscles screamed as I pulled myself off the mats and faced our Instructor.
Running a hand through his thinning hair, Instructor Romvi looked disgusted with the entire class. “If he’d been a daimon, you’d be dead now. Do you understand? Dead, not alive, Miss Andros.”
Like there was some other definition of “dead” I wasn’t familiar with. I gritted my teeth and managed a nod.
Romvi shot me another scathing glare. “It’s difficult to believe you have any amount of aether in you, Miss Andros. The essence of the gods is wasted on you. The way you fight, you might as well be mortal.”
Hadn’t I killed threeaether-craving daimons? Wasn’t that worth something?
“Square off. Keep your eyes trained on muscle movement. You know the drill,” he instructed.
I turned back to Jackson Manos, resident Covenant heartthrob and my current opponent. With his swarthy looks and those dark, sexy eyes, he could be quite the distraction.
Jackson winked at me.
I narrowed my eyes at him. We weren’t allowed to talk during sparring. Instructor Romvi felt it took away from the authenticity of fighting. Really, even in all of Jackson’s glory, he wasn’t the reason I kept missing his heel strikes and spin kicks.
The source of my absolute failure leaned against the training room wall. Dark waves tumbled over his forehead, falling into gunmetal gray eyes. Some would say Aiden St. Delphi needed a haircut, but I loved the wilder look he’d been favoring recently.
An instant later, our gazes locked. Aiden returned to the stance I was all too familiar with—well-defined arms crossed over his chest, legs widespread. Watching, always watching. Now he communicated a look that said I should be paying attention to Jackson and not him.
Tight coils sprung within me—another thing I’d grown accustomed to. It happened whenever I laid eyes on him. It wasn’t so much the near perfect curve of his cheekbones or the way his smile hinted at a set of dimples. Or that impossibly ripped body of his—
I snapped out my reverie with a moment to spare. I blocked Jackson’s knee with a brutal swipe of my arm, and then I went for a throat strike. Jackson countered it easily. We circled one another, delivering blows and dodging them. He stepped back, dropping his arms to his sides. I saw my opening and went for it. Spinning around, I aimed my knee for his midsection. Jackson darted to the side, but not quickly enough. I caught him hard in the stomach.
Surprisingly, Instructor Romvi clapped. “Good—”
“Oh, crap,” Caleb Nicolo, my best friend and partner in mayhem, moaned from the group of students standing against the wall.
The thing about defensive kicks—once we made contact with our opponents we either needed to go for the kill shot or back up. I’d done neither. Jackson doubled over my knee and went down, taking me along for the ride. We hit the mat, and somehow—and I seriously doubted by accident—Jackson ended sprawled atop me. His weight knocked my head back and the air out of my lungs.
Instructor Romvi yelled, slipping into a different language—maybe Romanian or something. Anyway, whatever he said sounded suspiciously like cursing.
Jackson lifted his head, his shoulder-length hair shielding his grin from the class. “Always on your back, huh?”
“Yeah, that’s more like your girlfriend. Get off.” I pushed at his shoulders. Chuckling, Jackson rolled and stood. Ever since the whole “my mom murdered his girlfriend’s parents” incident, Jackson and I hadn’t gotten along. Actually, courtesy of my dead daimon mother, I wasn’t getting along with most of the other students, either. Go figure.
Flushing with embarrassment, I scrambled to my feet and stole a quick glance at Aiden. His expression may have appeared blank, but I knew he’d already compiled a mental list of all the things I’d done wrong and filed it away. But he wasn’t my immediate concern.
Instructor Romvi stalked across the mats, stopping in front of Jackson and me. “That was absolutely unacceptable! You move away or dispose of the opponent.”
To drive his point home, he threw his arm out, hitting me square across the chest. I stumbled back an inch and clenched my jaw shut. Every cell in my body demanded that I do the same in return.
“You do not wait! And you.” Romvi whirled on Jackson. “Do you plan to lie on daimons for fun? Let me know how that works out for you.”
Jackson flushed, but didn’t respond. We didn’t talk back in Romvi’s class.
“Off the mats now—not you, Miss Andros!”
I stopped, eyeing Caleb and Olivia hopelessly. They stared back, their expressions mirroring mine. Resigned to what I knew was going to happen next, because it’d happened every class with Romvi, I turned to the Instructor and waited for the epic smackdown.
“Many of you aren’t ready for graduation.” Romvi prowled the edge of the mat. “Many of you will die the first week on the job, but you, Miss Andros? You’re an embarrassment to the Covenant.”
Romvi was an embarrassment to the male race, but he didn’t hear me bitching.
He circled me slowly. “I am shocked that you faced down daimons and still stand before me. Some may think you have potential, Miss Andros. I have yet to see it.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aiden. He’d stiffened, gaze narrowed upon us. He also knew what was coming, and there was nothing he could do, even if he wanted to.
“Prove to me that you belong here,” Romvi said. “Prove to me that you have gained reentry to the Covenant based on merit and not familial ties.”
Instructor Romvi was a bigger jerk than most Instructors. He was one of the pure-bloods who’d chosen to become a Sentinel instead of coasting through life living off old money. Like Aiden, pures who chose this kind of life were a rare breed, but that was where the commonalities between the two ended. Romvi had hated me from the first day of class, and I liked to believe Aiden felt quite the opposite.
Romvi attacked.
For someone so old, Romvi sure could move fast. I backed across the mats, trying to remember everything Aiden had taught me over the summer. Romvi swung around, his booted heel aiming for my midsection. I swiped his leg away and threw a punch I really, reallymeant. He blocked that. On and on we went, exchanging and receiving blows. He was landing more on me, continuously edging me toward the edge of the mat.
With each swing and each kick, Romvi’s blows became more brutal. It waslike fighting a daimon, because I seriously believed Romvi wanted to do me real harm. I was holding my own until my sneaker slipped off the edge of the mat. I made a tactical mistake.
I allowed myself to be distracted.
Romvi took it. Reaching out and grabbing a fistful of my ponytail, he yanked me forward. “You should be less worried about your vanity,” he said, twisting me so my back faced the doors. “And cut your hair.”
I struck out, catching Romvi in the stomach, but it didn’t faze him. Using my own momentum—and my hair—he slammed me onto the mat. I rolled into the fall, half grateful that it was over. I didn’t even care that he’d kicked my ass in front of the entire class. Just as long as this—
Romvi grabbed my arm and pulled it high above me, yanking me to my knees. “Listen to me, half-bloods. Dying in battle is not your worst nightmare anymore.”
My eyes popped wide. Oh, no. No, no, no. He wouldn’t dare…
He pushed the sleeve of the Under Armour shirt back until my skin was exposed to the elbow. “This is what happens to you. Take a good, long look at what happens when you fail. They will turn you into a monster.”
Fire coursed across my cheeks and my brain sort of emptied. I tried, really tried, to keep the scars hidden from my classmates. I focused on anything other than the faces of the students as he continued to show the world my tags. My gaze fell over his rough, aged hand, then up his own battle-scarred arm. The sleeve of his shirt had fallen back, revealing a tattoo of a torch turned downward.
Instructor Romvi hadn’t struck me as the type to be into tattoos.
Romvi dropped my arm then, allowing me to pull my sleeve down. I hoped he got eaten by hungry daimons. I might look like a scarred-up freak, but I hadn’t failed a damn thing. I’d killed the daimon ultimately responsible for leaving me this way—my mother.
“None of you are ready to become Sentinels, to face a daimon half-blood trained just like you.” Romvi’s voice carried through the room. “I don’t expect most of you to show any improvement by tomorrow. Class is over.”
I fought the urge to jump on Romvi’s back like a monkey and snap his neck. That wouldn’t win me any fans, but the sick sense of satisfaction would almost be worth it.
On his way out, Jackson bumped into me. “Your arm looks like a checkerboard. That’s real hot.”
“Yeah, that’s what your girlfriend said about your di—”
Instructor Romvi’s hand snapped out, catching my chin. “Your mouth, Miss Andros, could also use improvement.”
“But Jackson—”
“I do not care.” He dropped his hand, glaring down at me. “I do not tolerate such foul words in my class. This is your last warning. Next time you will find yourself in the Dean’s office.”
Unbe-freaking-lievable. I watched Romvi stalk out of the room.
Caleb approached me, handing Olivia her gym bag. His eyes, the color of the clearest sky, shone with sympathy. “He’s a prick, Alex.”
I waved my hand dismissively, not sure if he was talking about Romvi or Jackson. They were both pricks in my book.
“One of these days, you’re so gonna snap and kill him.” Luke dragged his fingers through bronze-colored locks.
“Which one?” I asked.
“Both.” Luke grinned as he tapped my arm. “I just hope I’m here to see it.”
“I second that.” Olivia wrapped her arm around Caleb’s. They pretended whatever was going on between them was a casual thing, but I knew different. Whenever Olivia touched Caleb, which was often, he completely forgot about whatever was going on and got this stupid smile on his face.
Then again, a lot of the male halfs got that look on their faces around her. Olivia was stunning. Her caramel-colored skin was envied by most of the halfs. So was her closet. I’d kill to get my hands on her clothes.
A shadow fell over our little group, quickly dispersing them. I didn’t have to look up to know it was Aiden. Only he had the kind of power to send just about anyone running in the opposite direction. Respect and fear did that.
“See you later,” Caleb called out.
I nodded vaguely, staring at Aiden’s sneakers. Shame over Romvi’s little display made it hard to look at him. I worked hard for Aiden’s respect, to prove I did have the potential he and Leon had believed I had the day Marcus had tried to toss me out of the Covenant.
Funny how one person could ruin that in a matter of seconds.
“Alex, look at me.”
Against my will, I obeyed. When he spoke that way, I couldn’t help it. He stood in front of me, his long and lean body coiled. We currently were pretending I hadn’t tried to hand my virginity over to him the night I’d found out I was going to be the second coming of the Apollyon. Aiden seemed to be doing really well with it. I, on the other hand, couldn’t stop obsessing over it.
“You didn’t fail.”
I shrugged. “Doesn’t seem that way, does it?”
“The Instructors are tougher on you because of the time you’ve missed and because your uncle is the Dean. People look at what you do. They pay attention.”
“And my stepfather is the Minister of Council. I get it, Aiden. Look, let’s get this over with.” My voice was a little sharper than I intended, but Aiden had seen how mortifying this class had turned out. Not like I needed to discuss it with him.
Aiden caught my arm and pushed up the sleeve of my shirt. It had a whole different effect on me. A flutter formed in my chest, spreading a warm flush all over me. Pure-bloods were off-limits to us halfs, which meant what had gone down between us was tantamount to feeling up the Pope or offering Gandhi a roast beef sandwich.
“You should never be ashamed of these scars, Alex. Never.” Aiden dropped my arm and motioned me to the center of the floor. “Let’s get this going so you can rest.”
I trailed behind him. “What about your rest? Don’t you have a patrol tonight?” Aiden was pulling double duty between training me and his Sentinel duties.
Aiden was special. He’d chosen to be a Sentinel, and he’d also chosen to work with me so I wouldn’t be so far behind the other students. He didn’t have to do either, but a sense of justice had propelled him to become a Sentinel. We shared that desire. What made him want to help me? I liked to think he was undeniably attracted to me—like I was when it came to him.
He circled me, stopping to position my arms at mid-level. “You’re holding your arms wrong. That’s why Jackson’s hits kept getting through.”
“What about your rest?” I persisted.
“Don’t worry about me.” He squared off, motioning me forward with one hand. “Worry more about yourself, Alex. This is going to be a tough year for you, and you’re doing triple time in training.”
“I’d have more free time if I didn’t have to practice with Seth.”
Aiden swung forward so fast I barely blocked the blow. “Alex, we’ve been over this.”
“I know.” I stopped his chop. I alternated days between Aiden and Seth, as well as every other weekend. It was like they shared joint custody of me, but I hadn’t seen my other halfyet today. Strange—he usually lurked around nearby.
“Alex.” Aiden moved out of the offensive stance, studying me closely.
“What?” I dropped my arms.
He opened his mouth, seeming to rethink his words. “You’ve been looking a little tired lately. Are you getting enough rest?”
I felt my cheeks burst with color. “Gods, do I look that bad or something?”
He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Softness crept across his features. “Alex, you don’t look bad at all. It’s just that… you’ve been through a lot and you seem tired.”
“I’m okay.”
Aiden placed his hand on my shoulder. “Alex?”
My heart thundered in response to his touch. “I’m fine.”
“You keep saying that.” His gaze flickered across my face. “You always say that.”
“I say it because there isn’t anything wrong with me!” I swatted at his hand, but he dropped his other one on my shoulder, effectively trapping me in front of him. “There’s nothing wrong with me,” I said again, but much quieter. “I’m okay. Completely a hundred percent fine with everything.”
Aiden opened his mouth, probably to say something ridiculously supportive, but he didn’t say anything. He just stared at me and then his grip on my shoulders tightened. He knew I was lying.
Everything wasn’t fine.
Nightmares of those horrifying hours in Gatlinburg kept me up at night. Nearly everyone at school hated me, believing I’d been the reason for the daimon attack at Lake Lure during the summer. Seth’s constant stalking only added to their suspicions. Out of all the halfs, only Caleb knew I was fated to be the second Apollyon—and fated to completeSeth as his supernatural supercharger or something. His continuing attentions didn’t win me any fans among the female halfs. All the girls wanted Seth, while I just wanted to be rid of him.
But when Aiden looked at me like he did now, I forgot about the world. I couldn’t read much of anything from Aiden’s expression, but his eyes… well, his eyes told me he wasn’t doing so great with the whole pretending-we-hadn’t-almost-hooked-up charade. Aiden still thought about it; hell, he was thinking about it right now. Maybe he imagined what would’ve happened if Leon hadn’t interrupted—maybe even as much as I did. Maybe he’d lie awake and remember how our bodies had felt together.
I know I did.
The tension racked up several degrees and my body warmed deliciously. These were the kind of moments I lived for. I wondered what he’d do if I stepped forward and closed the distance between us. It wouldn’t take much for me to do it. Would he think I just wanted comfort? Because he would comfort me—he was that kind of guy. And then, if I tipped my head back, would he kiss me? Because he looked like he wanted to do both. Hold me, kiss me, and do all sorts of wonderful, forbidden things.
I stepped forward.
His hands jerked against my shoulders, indecision crawled over his features. For a second—just as second—I think he seriously considered it. Then his hands flattened, like a barrier meant to keep me back.
The doors opened behind us, and Aiden dropped his hands. I twisted around, wanting to punch whoever it was in the face. I’d come thisclose to getting what I’d wanted.
Leon’s bulky mass filled the door, dressed in his typical, all-black Sentinel garb. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but this cannot wait.”
Leon always had something important to tell Aiden. The last time he’d interrupted us had been two seconds after I’d given Aiden the green light to go all the way.
Leon had the worst timing ever.
Of course, the last time he’d interrupted, things had been pretty serious. They’d found Kain alive. Once a half-blood Sentinel, Kain had helped Aiden train me. A weekend trip to nearby Lake Lure had proved fatal for everyone involved. He’d survived the daimon attack but had come back to the Covenant as something we’d thought was impossible—a half-blood daimon.
Now Kain was dead, and I’d seen it happen. I’d liked and missed Kain, even after he’d killed a bunch of pures and knocked me around the room. That hadn’t been the Kain I’d known. Like Mom, he’d turned into a terrible version of who he’d really been.
Leon moved his massive body forward, looking like the poster child for steroids. “There’s been a daimon attack.”
Aiden tensed. “Where?”
“Here at the Covenant.”
CHAPTER 2
PRACTICE WAS OFFICIALLY CANCELLED.
“Go straight to your dorm, Alex, and stay there,” Aiden said before leaving the training arena.
I went to the cafeteria instead.
There was no way I was going to hang out in my dorm while there was a daimon running amuck. I’d considered following the two for a moment, but my ninja stealth skills were subpar.
By the time I’d cut across the quad, the sky had darkened and turned ominous. I picked up my pace, because when the sky got this way, one had to pay attention. September was hurricane season around this place. Or it could just mean Seth was pissed off somewhere nearby; his moodiness had a startling effect on the weather.
In the cafeteria, everyone huddled together in little groups, their faces animated. I grabbed an apple and a soda, noting there wasn’t a single pure in the lunchroom. I dropped into the seat beside Caleb.
He looked up, eyes bright. “You heard?”
“Yeah, I was practicing when Leon came to get Aiden.” I glanced at Olivia. “Do you have any details?”
“All I’ve heard is one of the younger students—Melissa Callao—didn’t show up for classes today. Her friends were concerned and checked her dorm. They found her in bed, the window open.”
I sat back, squelching the unease shifting through me. “Is she alive?”
Olivia stabbed a fork into her pizza. Her pure-blood mother worked closely with the Council. Lucky for us, she kept her daughter well informed. “She was practically drained, but she’s alive. I don’t know how her roommate didn’t know, or why she wasn’t attacked, too.”
“How in Hades is a daimon running around here?” Luke held up a hand, a puzzled frown on his face. “How could one get past the Guards?”
“It had to be a half,” Elena said from further down the table. She looked like an extraordinarily tall Tinkerbell with her short hair and wide, green eyes.
Up until this summer, we’d believed that half-bloods couldn’t be turned into daimons. A pure was chock full of aether, and a daimon would chew, gnaw, and kill to get at that essence like a psychotic drug addict. Once drained of their aether, the daimon could let the pure die or turn them, adding to the daimon horde. No one thought half-bloods had enough aether inside of them to make the switch over to the dark side, but for a patient daimon more interested in building an army than getting a meal, we were as good as a pure.
It sucked that the only place we were equal to pures was in a fate worse than death.
“Halfs who’ve turned don’t change like the pures.” Olivia flicked the fork between her long fingers. “They’re immune to titanium, right?” Her gaze landed on me.
I nodded. “Yep, gotta cut off their head. Gross, I know.” Or Seth could use his Apollyon mojo. He’d zapped Kain with akasha—the fifth and final element—and that’d done the job.
Caleb rubbed a spot on his arm where I knew he’d been tagged. He stopped as his eyes caught mine. I forced a smile.
“If it’s a half, it could be anyone.” Luke leaned back, folding his arms. “I mean, think about it. They don’t need elemental magic to conceal what they really look like. It could be anyone.”
When pures turned all evil and what-not, they were noticeable to half-bloods—like, really noticeable. Empty black eye sockets, pale skin, and mouths full of razor sharp teeth doesn’t make for a look that blends into the crowd. Halfs had the wacky ability to see through the elemental magic pure-blood daimons used, but daimon half-bloods just looked the same after they turned. At least Kain had.
“Well, it would have to be a half-blood who’d been attacked by a daimon,” a throaty, husky voice intruded. “Hmm, wonder who that could be? It’s not like they grow on trees around here.”
Lifting my head, I found Lea Samos and Jackson. It was the middle of September and the chick still sported a super tan—still so beautiful that I wanted to stab her in the eye with a plastic fork. “Yeah, that would make sense.” I kept my voice even.
Those amethyst eyes settled on me. “How many half-bloods do we know who’ve been attacked recently?”
I stared at her, stuck between disbelief and wanting to throw something. “Knock it off, Lea. I don’t want to hear your crap today.”
She pulled those full lips into a cruel smile. “I know of two.”
Caleb shot to his feet, knocking his chair over. “What are you saying, Lea?”
Two Guards by the door stepped forward, eyeing the situation with interest. Olivia grabbed Caleb’s hand, but he ignored her. “Come on, Lea. Just say it.”
She tossed a mane of coppery hair over her shoulder. “Chill out, Caleb. You got tagged how many times? Two? Three? It takes a hell of a lot more to turn a half-blood than that.” She looked at me pointedly. “Isn’t that right? That’s what I heard the Guards say. That the halfs have to be drained slowly, and then the daimon gives them the kiss of death.”
I took a deep breath. Lea and I were enemies. There’d been a time when my heart had sort of bled for her after her parents had been murdered, but that seemed like ages ago. “I’m not a daimon, you skank.”
Lea tipped her head to the side. “If it looks like a daimon, then…”
“Lea, go screw someone and tan, in whatever order.” Caleb sat back down. “No one wants to hear your crap. And that’s the funny thing about you, Lea. You think everyone cares what you have to say, when all they care about is how easy it is to get you on your back.”
“Or how the Instructors found a bottle of Brew in your room last week,” Olivia added, her lips curving into a half smile. “Didn’t know you were into such freaky stuff, or maybe that’s how you get guys into you.”
I snorted. I hadn’t heard that. “Wow. Drugging guys to sleep with you? Nice. I guess that’s why Jackson practically humped my leg in class today.”
Lea’s cheeks flamed an odd shade of brown and red. “You stupid, daimon-loving bitch, you’re the reason why my father’s dead! You should have—”
Several people moved at once. Olivia and Caleb darted across the table, trying to get a hold on me, but I was fast when I wanted to be.
I didn’t think; I just launched my shiny red apple right at her face. A throw like that from a half-blood turned an apple into a serious weapon. It struck home with a loud cracking sound.
Lea stumbled back, clasping the front of her face. Blood gushed between her fingers, matching the color of her nails. “You broke my nose!”
Everyone in the cafeteria stilled. Even the drab-looking half-blood servants stopped cleaning tables to watch. No one screamed or seemed overtly startled. After all, we were half-bloods—a violent bunch. The servants were usually too doped up to be concerned.
Somehow I’d forgotten about the Guards as I’d gone for Lea. I squeaked when one of them got an arm around my waist and hauled me across the table. Drinks spilled; food fell to the floor, and mystery meat smeared itself all over my gym pants.
“Knock it off, right now!”
“She broke my nose again!” Lea dropped her hands from her face. “You can’t let her get away with this!”
“Oh, shut up. The docs will fix it. Half your face is plastic anyway.” I struggled against the Guard until he twisted my arm back so far that any movement caused my shoulder to scream.
“She wanted to get at my aether.” Lea pointed a bloodstained hand at me. “Her mother killed my parents, and now she wants to kill me!”
I laughed. “Oh, for the love—”
“Shut up,” the Guard hissed in my ear. “Shut up before I make you shut up.”
Threats made by half-blood Guards weren’t meant to be taken lightly. I quieted down while the other Guard grabbed ahold of Lea. Blood pounded in my ears and my chest still heaved with fury, but I realized that I may’ve overreacted a tiny bit.
And I was going to be in somuch trouble.
Half-bloods fighting amongst themselves wasn’t a big deal. The aggression and controlled violence sometimes rolled out of the training rooms into places like the cafeteria. Whenever halfs did get in trouble for fighting, they ended up with one of the Instructors who handled disciplinary issues.
Each dorm floor had one assigned. My floor had Instructor Gaia Telis, a pretty cool chick who wasn’t overly strict or annoying. But I didn’t end up with Instructor Telis. Five minutes after breaking Lea’s nose for the second time, I ended up in Dean Andros’s office.
This was only one of many drawbacks of my uncle being the Dean.
I stared at the vibrant fish zooming across the aquarium and fidgeted with the string on my pants while I waited for Marcus. Sometimes I felt like one of those fish—trapped by invisible walls.
The doors swinging open behind me made me cringe. This was going to suck daimon butt.
“If you discover anything else, notify me immediately. That is all.” Marcus’s deep voice filled the room. The Guards adorned the outside of his office doors like Greek warrior statues. Then he slammed the door shut.
I jumped.
Marcus stalked across the room, dressed like he’d spent the majority of the day on a golf course. I expected him to sit behind his desk like a dean should, so when he ended up directly in front of me, grasping the arms of my chair, I was a bit shocked.
“I am sure you’re aware of what has happened today.” The tone of Marcus’s voice was both cold and distinctively cultured. Most pures sounded that way—classy, refined. “A pure-blood was attacked at some point last night.”
I strained back as far as I could go, focusing on the aquarium. “Yeah—”
“Do not look away from me, Alexandria.”
Sucking in my lower lip, I faced him. His eyes were the same as my mother’s had been before she’d turned into a daimon—a vibrant shade of green, like glittering emeralds. “Yes, I heard.”
“Then you understand what I’m dealing with right now.” Marcus lowered his head so we were at eye level. “I have a daimon half-blood on my campus, hunting my students.”
“So it’s a half who’s been turned?”
“I think you already know that, Alexandria. You are a lot of things—impulsive, irresponsible, and ill-mannered—but stupid is not one of them.”
I wanted to hear more about this daimon half than my character flaws. “Who was the half? You’ve caught him, right?”
Marcus ignored my question. “Now, I’m pulled out of an investigation that will make or break my career here, all because my half-blood niece broke a girl’s nose in the cafeteria… with an apple, of all things.”
“She accused me of being a daimon!”
“So your natural response is to throw an apple at her face hard enough to break a bone?” His voice dropped, deceptively soft. Marcus was Chuck Norris in an off-pink polo shirt. I’d learned not to underestimate him.
“She said I was the reason her parents were killed.”
“I’ll ask you one more time: So you decided to throw an apple hard enough to break a bone?”
I wiggled uncomfortably. “Yeah, I guess so.”
He exhaled slowly. “Is that all you have to say?”
I glanced around the room, my brain emptying out. I said the first thing that came to mind, “I didn’t think the apple would break her nose.”
Pushing off the chair, he towered over me. “I expect more from you. Not because you’re my niece, Alexandria. Not even because you have more experience with daimons than any other student here.”
I rubbed my forehead.
